The My Keepon Story

My Keepon is based on its cousin Keepon® Pro, a research robot created by two scientists.

Dr. Hideki Kozima (Sendai, Japan) and Dr. Marek Michalowski (San Francisco, U.S.), of BeatBots have been using Keepon Pro in playrooms to study social development and autism. Keepon's simple appearance and dynamic behaviour have been embraced by children, parents, and practitioners alike. These same qualities have made Keepon resonate with a general audience through Internet exposure and public engagements.

When the pair of roboticists made Keepon dance on YouTube for the very first time, it instantly became an Internet phenomenon, with millions of people watching. To date, the video of Keepon dancing to indie rock band Spoon's "I Turn My Camera On" has had nearly 2.7 million views online.

"To answer the thousands of fans who have asked for their very own Keepon, we have teamed up with toy innovators Wow! Stuff to create My Keepon, a lifelike robotic toy packed with personality, who can live in anyone's home," says Dr. Michalowski.

My Keepon will be available throughout the US, UK and Europe from October 2011. Appropriate for children ages 6 and up, My Keepon is also expected to be a hit with 16, 66, and 106-year-olds.

A portion of every My Keepon purchase will be used to expand the Keepon Pro family of research robots, which will be distributed to researchers and practitioners investigating the use of robots in autism therapy.